


write us in the stars

by dearlyuta



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Artists, Alternate Universe - Writing & Publishing, Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Romance, artist!renjun, writer!jeno
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-25
Updated: 2018-10-25
Packaged: 2019-08-07 05:41:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16402373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dearlyuta/pseuds/dearlyuta
Summary: Jeno can spin out stories from the tips of his fingers but none of them would ever come close to what he has with Renjun.





	write us in the stars

**Author's Note:**

> wrote this because i miss noren so much. also, this is pretty much self-indulgent lmao i'm sorry. i hope you enjoy reading! (not proofread!)

There's something completely and utterly beautiful about Renjun.

Maybe it's the way Renjun can't stop dancing under the hazy bedroom light, honey-like laughter spilling from the corners of his lips as he spins around in such a graceful movement that steals Jeno's breath away so effortlessly. The stars residing within his dark orbs seem to shine brighter during those nights, when the night is silent — minutes and hours stretching into nothingness.

(Jeno has never wanted to get so lost with someone before.)

Or maybe it's the way Renjun loses himself in his artworks — eyes steady right in front of the canvas as his brush grazes along it in breathtaking strokes, leaving trails of paint that appears to be little constellations forming each path. At those times, Jeno willingly drops his pen, letting it clatter down on his desk as a fond smile gracing the corners of his lips unknowingly, his line of vision following his boyfriend's smooth movements.

Sometimes, Renjun will incline his head at him with flushed cheeks, playfully telling him to _stop staring, I'm embarrassed._ But most of the time, his gaze will only flicker at Jeno, a soft smile curling itself on the edges of his mouth before he loses himself in a stretch of universes where there's an infinity's worth of lines and curves, colors splashing so beautifully around them.

Or perhaps, it's the way Renjun pulls him down on the bed, lips pressing themselves against his jaw, cheek, down the crook of his neck before he nestles himself comfortably in Jeno's embrace. Their heartbeats fall in sync — a familiar melody that echoes through the confines of their chests and traveling smoothly down their veins.

This time, Jeno loses himself in counting all the stars quietly burning within Renjun's dark orbs as he lets the older boy trail his fingertips along the spot behind his ear before slowly making their way down to his neck, gripping the nape in a loose hold. Just a small reminder to both of them that they're here, that they're both existing in the same lifetime and the same timeline.

Renjun's soft, fleeting touches have always felt like home to him. Always so comforting and familiar that Jeno craves to feel him against his own body, lay his lips on the tip of his nose, the curve of his cheeks, and lastly, Renjun's breathtakingly sweet pair. Jeno slips into a wondrous stretch of galaxies exploding and burning constellations collapsing over one another as Renjun kisses him softly, a quiet invitation for him to _stay, please stay._

Jeno always does and he always will.

Sometimes, Jeno doesn't quite believe that Renjun actually exists — he's just so incredibly enticing with his head thrown back and melodious laughter echoing throughout his body. There could be a million universes out there, a million of timelines where Renjun exists and Jeno does not. Or where Jeno is breathing, alive and well and Renjun is not.

Jeno has always wondered if he had already stumbled into a lifetime where he met Renjun, in a completely different time or in a completely different place. He wondered if he looked at Renjun back then like he did now — like how he seems to have an endless loop of constellations burning and burning relentlessly. Like Renjun has the stars in his eyes alone.

These kind of thoughts keep him up late night, questions swirling deep within his head. They tirelessly spin around until they've fallen apart, fixing themselves back up to either form a new question or make a disastrous mess all over again.

This night is certainly not exception.

The exhaustion is lying within his bones, a constant ache in his muscles is a reminder that his body needs to rest. But he can't — his mind keeps drifting to wondrous destinations that either takes away his breath or send a shiver down his spine. His eyes briefly flicker over to his boyfriend and a smile instantly curves itself on his lips, watching the older boy's angelic face pull away from everything stressful and painful, surrendering himself to a peaceful evening. Jeno doesn't want to be the one who will ruin that.

He shifts, just a little, and Renjun moves closer with a hand gripping his shirt to keep him in his place. Jeno almost elicits a laugh at his actions — Renjun might never let the truth escape his lips when he's wide awake but even when he's asleep, there's always that subtle movement to cling to his boyfriend. Jeno loves it though, the way Renjun will curl in his arms and press his lips against his jaw, a smile already curving itself on the edges of his mouth.

God, Renjun is just so, _so_ beautiful.

Carefully, he grabs the older boy's fingers, gently unwrapping them from around his shirt before he finally rises from the bed, a smile still lingering on his lips. When he steals a glance at Renjun once more, he's caught breathless at how ethereal and peaceful he looks like — brown hair gently falling over his eyes as his chest rises and falls in a steady rhythm. If he listened closely, he would have heard the gentle sound of his heartbeat echoing within his rib cages, a silent melody that sends happiness bursting in his veins.

He walks over to his desk, footsteps muffled by the carpet as the soles of his feet gently hit it with every movement. He glances back every once and a while, seeing if Renjun has realized that he wasn't around — that usually stirs him up from his deep sleep if his hand grazes along the sheets instead of Jeno's warm body — but the sleeping boy is still drifting mindlessly in dreamland, unaware of what's happening.

Jeno heaves a sigh once he finds himself sitting on his chair, his notebook flipped open to a page with ink bleeding onto the paper. There are notes scrawled on it, hasty reminders of his appointments with the publisher tomorrow to talk about his new book and articles that still need to be written. He suppose that he should start on any of his assignments now, the anxiety of deadlines just creeping in the corners of his head, but instead, his hand grazes along the pages. He gently flips to a new page, paper still fresh and not an ounce of ink spreading along it.

His mind drifts off to one of his conversations with Renjun earlier — just a playful talk of reincarnations and alternate universes, words shifting together to form their quiet opinions about it. He knows that Renjun absolutely adores talking about those kind of topics — the otherworldly, the impossibility. Jeno supposedly feels drawn to it too since he's a writer. He's bound to shift and fall into a stretch of time and space, lose himself in storylines and timelines.

They talk about the lifetimes — the possibility of them meeting and falling recklessly like in this time.

"Mm, let's see," Renjun hummed, a smile already pulling on the edges of his mouth as his fingers circled around a cookie, picking it up and inspecting it closely, "what kind of person was I in another lifetime ago? Is that it?"

"Yeah," Jeno snatched the cookie out of Renjun's hand in a swift movement, bursting into a quiet laugh when Renjun sulked at him, choosing to pick out another delicacy from the tray.

"Is this for your book?"

"I guess you can say that." Jeno had forgotten about the sweet treat in his fingers, eyes focused on the way Renjun seemed to be inspecting the chocolate chip cookie before he eagerly took a bite, a smile already appearing on his lips. Renjun is so endearing, so wonderful and Jeno can't help but fall a little harder for him each time.

"Maybe we met before," Renjun dropped the half of his cookie on his plate, dusting the crumbs off his fingers before grabbing a tissue to wipe the chocolate smudges on them and on the corner of his lips, "Maybe it was summer that time. I was a struggling artist, painting sceneries and constantly wishing to the stars that someone would notice me."

"Go on," Jeno dropped his own delicacy on his plate, not even taking a bite out of it, as he propped his elbow on the counter, laying his chin on his palm. Renjun gazed at him silently, the stars dancing in his eyes and Jeno was pulled right in by the way his dark brown orbs seem to shine as the sunlight hits them perfectly.

"And someone did. He's a photographer named Lee Jeno. Someone who has a good eye on artwork and no one can deny that he fell madly in love with both the painting and the artist."

"I bet he did. Who wouldn't fall in love with you?" Renjun's cheeks colored themselves in deep red, the color blossoming across the curves of his skin. He coughed into his fist, not entirely used to Jeno's sweet remarks even if they've been dating for years already.

"As I was saying," Renjun traced invisible patterns on the counter, eyes flickering down on the marble before he subtly took a step closer to his boyfriend, lips already curled upwards into a smile, "This photographer claimed he only took photos of the most beautiful things in the world. Anyone would assume that he loved taking pictures of breathtaking sceneries and artworks of all kinds."

Jeno could see the smile growing on his boyfriend's lips, the constellations breaking apart and falling together within his eyes as he paused, fingers pressed down on the counter.

"But instead, he took pictures of the struggling artist, claiming that he's the most beautiful."

Their eyes met and for a second, Jeno could see it. He could see the bright summer day, the heat hanging over everyone's shoulders as laughter resounded all too familiarly in the air, an echo of timeless joy. He could see the clear blue sky spread out vastly over their heads, so ethereal and lovely to look at. He could see the ice cream melting in cones, the colorful buildings lined up side by side as children ran around to play a game on the streets.

He could see Renjun with his cheeks splattered with paint and a smile forever lingering just at the corners of his lips. The way his eyes would crinkle as another trail of laughter and chuckles fall from his mouth, heart fluttering ever so gently beneath his rib cage. He could see how his face is flushed, a pretty red tint blossoming on his cheeks as the heat slips through the open window, the sunlight illuminating the room.

Jeno could see the paintings, the timeless beauty painted in strokes along the canvas, a memory frozen in a second. He could see the way he would hold a camera, laughing endlessly as he snapped pictures of Renjun, trying his best to capture his own exquisite beauty in a single photograph like how the older boy would capture the world's frozen beauty in a single canvas.

He could see the both of them laughing, smiling — the kind of happiness that bursts within your chest and leaves a trail of elation behind to exist for an entire lifetime. Or even an eternity.

Jeno thinks they're beautiful like that. Endlessly beautiful.

"What do you think?" Jeno snapped back into reality, brown eyes staring back at Renjun as his lips pursued themselves into a thin line. The older boy had already chosen to shift through the remaining cookies, his own treat was already finished with crumbs decorating his own plate. Jeno couldn't help but curl his lips into a bright smile, eyes crinkling.

"I think that would be amazing."

/

Jeno blinks rapidly, gaze focusing on the page right in front of him. He finds himself smiling softly as he unknowingly writes about how the sunlight seems to burn brighter in the daylight when Renjun emits the sweetest laugh that has ever echoed within the confines of this universe. The ink bleeds onto the page as the words speak about Renjun's timeless beauty — bright, starry eyes always full of life and hope and a smile curved just on the corners of his lips — and how certainly lucky he is to be able to bear witness to that kind of sight.

His mind wanders again, shifting through memories until it pauses right in front of a scene that happened when they were getting ready for bed. Renjun had already curled himself up in his sheets, whining for the younger boy to _hurry up and get dressed already, I miss you._ He remembers how it never fails to make him smile because Renjun is awfully clingy and adorable. His heart beats wildly against his rib cage as the scenes slowly pass through before him, playing each second without missing a single beat.

"What about you?" Renjun spoke up, the blanket secured tightly around his figure and leaving an ample amount of space for the younger boy by his side. Jeno slipped into a loose white shirt and dark sweatpants before he tousled his black hair, running a hand through it smoothly to carefully fix the tangles. Renjun was sporting a bright smile that makes Jeno's heart swoon endlessly, rising to his throat before dropping back down to nestle itself comfortably beneath his rib cage, contented after seeing such a heavenly sight.

"What do you mean?" His voice came out rough and scratchy, forcing himself to clear his throat a few times as his feet softly pattered against the floor, settling down next to his boyfriend. The older boy was swift to curl a hand around his shirt before snuggling right by his side, a habit that he can never break but Jeno adores it all the same.

"You remember what we talked about this afternoon, right? In the kitchen?" Jeno blinked down at him, nodding his head slowly as his arms slithered themselves around Renjun's lithe waist. They feel comfortable like this — with Renjun's fleeting touches along his neck and his shoulders while Jeno keeps his arms wrapped securely around the smaller boy's figure. They feel at home like this.

"Yeah, why?"

Renjun hesitated, eyes flickering over to the taller male as he worried his bottom lip with his teeth with his cheeks coloring themselves again with scarlet red, "What kind of person do you think you were in another lifetime ago?"

A stretch of silence echoed between them as Renjun paused his trail of thoughts, looking even smaller and more worried if it's possible.

"Do you think you were in love with me just as you are with me right now?"

Jeno stared at him, long and hard, his brows knitting together in confusion. Why was Renjun worried about this? There were lifetimes ago and there will be more lifetimes ahead — why would it matter what kind of relationship they had years ago?

But maybe Renjun had always been like that. A little too worried about past lifetimes and past centuries. A little too heartbroken over the fact that maybe, in one of those lifetimes, they never fell in love or worse, they never met at all. Jeno perhaps understood him — he can't imagine a life where Renjun and him never ended up together.

_Renjun and Jeno._

_Jeno and Renjun._

They were perfect, like puzzle pieces that were meant to fit together. Like all the little atoms of their souls have decided to find a way for them to cross paths at one point — perhaps in this lifetime, fate had spun her cards and made them fall madly and deeply in love with each other.

"I think so," Jeno's fingers shifted through the empty spaces of Renjun's hand, thumb grazing ever so lightly against his knuckles before he brought their intertwined hands against his beating chest, "There's so many lifetimes and universes out there. I don't think there was a lifetime where I didn't fall madly in love with you."

His voice became quiet, soft as his eyes briefly flutter close but Renjun heard him all the same.

"Because we might have been different people in another time but we have the same souls since the very start," Their eyes met and Jeno could see the way the stars have decided to come out and twinkle deep within the dark specks of Renjun's eyes, "I feel like my soul was destined to love you since the day I was born."

Renjun stayed silent after that, cheeks burning but Jeno can't deny the way his gaze settled on the smile that lingered on his boyfriend's lips. They snuggled a little closer and Renjun dropped a kiss right by his jaw, just a gentle brush of his lips against his skin but still, it sent a shiver down Jeno's spine upon feeling the electrifying shocks that traveled through his veins.

"You didn't answer my first question." Renjun laughed softly and Jeno found himself grinning, loving the way that beautiful sound seemed to echo in every corner of that room.

"Well," He gave their intertwined fingers a soft squeeze and Renjun stole a glance at them, eyes flickering back to gauge out Jeno's thoughtful expression crossing his features, "I'd like to imagine that we met in a diner. Perhaps, you were a just visitor that's dropping by in my hometown. But I was already enamoured with your presence — the way your eyes shine brightly and the way your laugh never fails to echo and bounce off the walls of the diner. No matter where you go, everyone had their eyes on you. You're beautiful like that."

Renjun didn't reply but he chose to bury his face on the crook of Jeno's neck, laughing quietly once again his skin. Jeno thought that his laugh might have stirred a heartache out of his chest, the melody is just incredibly breathtaking and enticing.

"That night in the same diner, we were the only ones left. You were reckless and dangerous but you had a certain kind of beauty within you," Jeno paused, fingers shifting through the older boy's hair and letting the strands tangle around them, "You could say that I fell in love at first sight."

"Then?" Renjun mumbled against his neck, breath coming out shaky. Jeno hid a smile at his reaction — he knew that Renjun is absolutely enamoured with every word that falls from his lips, completely capturing his attention whenever Jeno tells him a bedtime story like this. Jeno didn't respond at first, allowing his fingers to tighten their grip on his hair for a moment before his fingertips graze along his back instead.

"You went over to the jukebox and played a famous song. The notes were familiar to everyone and it took my breath away when you let yourself go and danced from booth to booth, laughing so beautifully." 

Renjun burst into a fit of chuckles as the heat crawls to his neck. Jeno thought he heard him say _that sounds so unbelievable, I'd never do that_ but he didn't think the same like Renjun did.

Renjun, in his own way, is absolutely free and reckless — the way he pulls Jeno in the middle of their bedroom near midnight to dance and laugh so carelessly, the stardust falling from his lips. Or even the way when he takes a seat in front of his canvas, every stroke of his paintbrush is like painting an entire new world, a new universe just for them to live in.

"And then what?" Jeno smiled fondly, as if the imagined scene had become some sort of memory of his. A memory of a lifetime ago.

"You weren't satisfied about dancing alone so when your gaze landed on me, you brought me out of my seat and told me to dance with you. I must have looked ridiculous because I can't dance."

"That's not true! You're a great dancer — you were even a part of your university's dance club!"

"Well," Jeno pretended to heave a deep, dramatic sigh, gaze flickering over to his boyfriend as he tried not to let a smile curl on his lips, "I can't always be perfect, you know?"

"Conceited idiot."

 _"Your_ conceited idiot, you mean."

Their eyes met once more and Renjun flashed a wide smile at his direction, eyes crinkling.

Jeno could see the imagery flash in his head. He could see himself in a diner, the red booths were almost falling apart, the stuffing already starting to slip its way out of the cracks. He could see the way the bright lights cast a spotlight on the boy who stole his heart so effortlessly with a smile and a laugh.

He could see Renjun with his hair styled up and a chuckle leaving his lips as he danced from empty booth to booth, not even caring if his steps are no longer falling in sync with the musical notes. He looked so reckless, so light on his toes, appearing absolutely free and breathtaking in a single moment.

If that truly happened, in a previous lifetime of theirs, Jeno wouldn't be surprised if he really did allow himself to fall deeply with a boy like that.

"Then what happens after that?" Renjun was starting to drift off to sleep, constantly dipping himself into a senseless stretch of dreams before snapping back to reality. Jeno stayed silent after that, his dark brown orbs settling on his boyfriend's sleepy expression as a smile lingered on his lips, daring himself to add a little more.

"Then somehow, the jukebox had fallen shut almost at the end of the song. You sulked about it before pulling on my hand, telling me that you'll sing the rest of it while I dance," Jeno watched as Renjun slowly surrendered himself to a vision of darkness, his hand shifting once more through his brown hair for one last time, "And that's exactly what we did — I danced for you while you sang the last few notes, the both of us just bursting into laughter after finishing it."

Renjun had already fallen strangely quiet after that so Jeno just assumed that he had slipped through his way to dreamland. But just when he tried to shift away just a little, a hand curled tightly around the edge of his shirt, a silent whisper of him to stay close. When he snuggled closer, arm wrapped firmly around his boyfriend's waist, Renjun spoke up one last time.

"That's really beautiful, Jen." With that, Renjun fell through a stretch of time and space, through bursting galaxies and constellations in his head.

Jeno couldn't stop smiling after that.

/

"Hey." Jeno snaps back to reality, his notebook falling shut as his eyes flicker to the bed. Renjun is sitting up, the lamp sitting by their dresser is quietly glowing and illuminating his features. Jeno doesn't even try to deny that he's breathless just at the sight of it.

"Hey," Jeno stands up from his chair, approaching the smaller boy carefully until he sits right next to him, their fingers naturally intertwining, "why are you awake?"

"You weren't around." Renjun says it as a matter-of-fact and Jeno can't help but burst into a quiet fit of laughter, gently squeezing his hand in his hold. Despite the weak lighting in the room, he can still see the red tint blossoming across the curve of Renjun's cheeks — it's so endearing that Renjun still easily blushes over anything that they do together.

"I'm hungry," He clings to Jeno, fingers gripping around the younger boy's shirt as he presses his cheek tiredly against his shoulder with a muffled sigh, "do we have anything to eat?"

"There's still those cookies that we baked this afternoon." Renjun sniffles before nodding his head, pulling away and letting the sleeves of his sweater go past his hands, his fingers barely visible underneath the clothing. Jeno stands without the other telling him to — he knows that Renjun absolutely hates navigating through the dark and he doesn't want to turn on the lights in the middle of the night.

Their fingers lightly link with each other's as Renjun pulls him along quietly down the hall and straight to the kitchen, the excited bounce in his steps is a clear indication that he's certainly up for the sweet treat. The only light that glows within the kitchen is the moonlight that is gently slipping through the window but both of them didn't mind it at all. They shift through the refrigerator, taking out the container and setting it down on the marble counter, pulling the lid off before their fingers grip for the first cookies.

But just like this afternoon, Jeno doesn't pay any attention to the sweet delicacy that he grabbed for himself — instead, his gaze falls on the boy that he loves the most. The way the moonlight brightens up the room in an exquisite kind of light, enough to make Renjun appear heavenly and divinely, the stars dancing within the dark brown specks of his eyes.

Jeno wants to stay like this forever.

"Hey," Jeno drops his cookie back into the container just when Renjun finished his, gesturing him to come closer. Renjun spares him a glance of confusion, wiping away the crumbs and chocolate smudges on his fingers for a moment before he approaches his boyfriend, tilting his head.

"Can you sing for me?"

"What?" Renjun's voice comes out a pitch higher and Jeno holds himself back from laughing, taking the older boy in his arms safely before guiding him over to the window. The perfect spot to see Renjun's features light up whenever the moonlight hits them.

"Come on," Jeno murmurs, pulling him against his chest and carefully swaying their bodies from side to side, eyes fluttering shut for a quiet stretch of a moment, "sing for me. Just this once."

Usually, Renjun would disagree — Jeno expected him to push him away before complaining that he's too embarrassed to do things like this as his cheeks burn.

But none of that happened.

Renjun hums at first, a little hesitant so Jeno keeps the same pace — swaying them from side to side before spontaneously spinning Renjun in his arms. He emits an echoing laughter at the way Renjun yelps in surprise as he spins on his heel, letting his boyfriend catch him again in his arms.

"Don't do that!" Renjun hits his shoulder playfully and Jeno times his reaction perfectly, immediately wincing the moment Renjun's knuckles meet his shoulder. The older boy looks proud of the reaction that he pulled out from Jeno before they burst into a fit of chuckles, falling into place as Renjun quietly sings a love song that sounds so familiar to them while Jeno guides him in dancing.

Jeno lets his gaze wander over to the small framed paintings decorating the walls, the first paintings that Renjun made that gained recognition and fame from various people. They are hanging there quietly, the timeless beauty of these sceneries are forever captured within a single painting like that.

Jeno eyes the polaroids that they took when they visited an amusement park — their smiling faces and the way the laughter never fails to leave their lips that day makes his heart swoon uncontrollably. They're taped to the door of the refrigerator, the edges of the photographs are becoming weary slowly but still awfully beautiful. All those wondrous moments captured within a single shot of a picture.

As Jeno stares down at Renjun's bright, starry eyes, he becomes breathless all over again.

Maybe those tales that they spun today might be the truth or maybe they're just going to burn themselves in the pages of Jeno's black notebook. But Jeno, despite not knowing what his previous lifetimes are about or how his new lifetimes will unravel, only thinks about one thing.

Being with Renjun like this, the happiness and contentment circulating within their bodies as the stars burn brightly over their heads, is a lifetime that he'll certainly never forget.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! feel free to talk to me in [twitter.](http://twitter.com/jenosaints)


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